The present invention generally relates to the field of financial services related to educational expenses. More particularly, the present invention relates to the field of providing higher education related financial services aided by computer networks such as the Internet.
The expenses and costs related to higher education in the United States are sky rocketing. Many parents begin saving money for their children""s future higher education costs. However, it is hard to determine how much money needs to be saved now, because providing funds for future educational costs involves numerous uncertainties and risks, such as the future costs of higher education for the schools desired, the potential future rates of return for money saved and/or invested, and present values of the future costs under various assumptions.
There remains a need to eliminate the risks associated with the inflation in educational costs encountered by families with children desiring future higher education, and to provide assistance in the complicated process of successfully selecting and being admitted to the proper higher education institution.
The present invention is a method and system for financing expected future educational expenses.
A primary object of the present invention is to guarantee for children under the age of eight (8), the future delivery of educational costs and expenses at a college or university of their choice in the United States. A related object of the present invention is to provide ongoing counseling and guidance relative to the general admissions process at these institutions.
The present invention method considers: (1) expected future costs of higher education in the United States at some of the most highly rated institutions; (2) potential future rates of return appropriate for use in developing present values of future educational expenses, using historical experience as a guide; and (3) sample present values, under various assumptions, of amounts necessary today to meet future educational requirements.
It is also an object of the present invention to introduce to the worldwide market of parents and grandparents an innovative and unique package of financial savings program for higher education in the United States, together with educational counseling, guaranteeing full payment for most prestigious universities in the United States, and an ongoing online educational counseling. Families will invest amounts smaller than today""s cost with reputable investment management firms in the United States and receive a contract or policy that promises a full and direct payment to any college in the United States chosen by their children in the future.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and system for providing on-line assistance for educational funding and counseling services by utilizing a computer network such as the Internet. Described generally, the present invention is a method and system for financing expected future educational expenses. The method includes the basic steps of determining current educational expenses, reviewing past changes in educational expenses, calculating future educational expenses based on current educational expenses, past changes in educational expenses and assumptions on annual increase rates of educational expenses, establishing a target for future investment return based on calculated actuarial future educational expenses and assumptions on expected investment yields, and deriving present investment amounts needed to provide future educational expenses. Payment of the investment amounts are collected for investment of future payment of educational expenses. Additional insurance policies are purchased to providing cushion money to cover investment short fall and guarantee the payment for future educational expenses.
Further novel features and other objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, discussion and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the drawings.